* 1:25 pm - Interesting…

A ruling issued this week by a Springfield-based federal judge calls into question the legality of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s 2005 rule requiring Illinois pharmacies to dispense emergency contraception.

The governor’s rule was designed to prevent pharmacists from being able to deny women access to “Plan B” contraceptives, even if pharmacists disagree with dispensing the drug on moral grounds. Some pharmacists consider Plan B a form of abortion because the drug can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in a woman’s uterus.

U.S. Judge Jeanne Scott Tuesday denied a request by Wal-Mart to throw out a lawsuit filed against the Arkansas-based company by pharmacist Ethan Vandersand.
Scott sided with Vandersand, who had claimed that he was legally protected from discipline by the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act when he denied to dispense Plan B. […]

But Scott disagreed and wrote in her ruling, “The statute prohibits discrimination against any person for refusing to provide health care because of his conscience.”

She also wrote: “Providing medication … constitutes health-care services. Any person, including Vandersand, who refuses to participate in any way in providing medication because of his conscience is protected by the Right of Conscience Act.”

*** 1:34 pm *** The key word in the following piece is “September.” There’s scuttlebutt going around that the budget might pass in the next several days and then the two chambers could come back in September for a special session on the capital plan (at least, that’s what the House Republican line is)…

A deal to bail out the CTA, Metra, and Pace may be fallen apart in Springfield - all because of partisan politics.

State Representative Julie Hamos (D-Evanston) – who chairs the House Mass Transit Committee and has been the brains behind the plan – claims House Republicans are holding it as a political hostage in order to get a plan to build new roads and schools passed.

“The Republican leaders were talking about waiting to vote on the transit bill unitl September. September is too late. September is after there’s already a shutdown, and really, already a meltdown,” said Hamos.

House Republican Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) tells me there is a correlation between the two.

“A number of our people believe that we need to do mass transit and a construction bill - it’s important to do them both,” said Cross.

Hamos says she had as many as 20 Republicans on board – but now they’re dropping like flies.

CTA fare hikes and service cuts take effect September 1st, which is a big reason why Hamos is so upset at this turn of events.

*** 1:47 pm *** As you already know, the governor has asked electricity consumers to “sit tight” while he takes a close look at the electric utility rate relief bill.

He doesn’t have much time.

One of the key aspects of the bill is a provision for five-year electricity supply contracts with locked-in prices. The locked-in prices, negotiated by the attorney general’s office, for Ameren’s customers expires tomorrow.

Rep. John Bradley, who was one of the point people on the relief package, said on the House floor today that the governor’s failure to act on the legislation is jeopardizing all the work done on the bill.

“All bets are off” for Ameren customers if the bill isn’t signed tomorrow, according to a spokesperson for Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

The spokesperson added that wholesale electricity prices have risen considerably since the original contracts were negotiated, so if the bill isn’t signed by tomorrow and the contracts have to be renegotiated, consumers will suffer.

The governor’s press office has not yet returned phone and e-mail messages.

*** 2:00 pm *** Today’s 2 o’clock meeting between the four legislative leaders could be very crucial. Right now, we’re getting two conflicting versions of what’s really going on.

1) Senate President Jones is leaning towards doing a budget deal with Speaker Madigan that pares down pretty much every request by Gov. Blagojevich and includes no capital plan - which brings up the September special session that the Republicans want for capital and their threat to withhold votes for a mass transit deal unless they get the session or a capital bill now.

2) Jones is still leaning more towards Gov. Blagojevich’s battle plan.

We may know soon. Then again, maybe not. One never knows anything for sure around here, especially when there’s still six days to go before the shutdown begins.

*** 5:50 pm *** The leaders meeting wasn’t necessarily a bust, but there was no breakthrough, either. More in tomorrow’s Capitol Fax.